Process of forming steel connecting-rods.



L. W. GOPPOGK. PRooEss 0F FORMING STEEL GONNEUTING RODS.

APPLIU-ATION FILED FEB. 23, 19.10.

Patented Man-14,1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

Fig... 5.-.'-

Wj? EssEs.- v y /1/ l,4 TTORNEY.

L. W. COPPCK.vv APEZOCVESS 0F FORMING STEEL CONNEOTING RODS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23.1910. Mar. 14,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

. [NVE/Wok. Lembelw CO HsocK. BY

ATZORNEY.

TH: NoRRls PETERS ca., wAsmNGoN, n.

L. W. OPPOUK. PROCESS OF FORMING STEEL GONNBGTING RODS.

' Patented Mar. 14,1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 Fig; 11

. Img m..

IVJTNESSLTS: l me f I' 5'0/ Y NVE/V703. 1

A HORA/.Ex

. Hbf 1,. l mit i i 'run 'sinfrns PATENT onnion LEMBERT W. COPPOGK, OFDECATUR, INDIANA, ASSIG-NORKOF ONE-HALF TO JESSE G. NIBLICK, F DECATUR,INDIANA.

PROCESS 0F FOR-MING STEEL CONNECTING-RODS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1911.

Application led February 23, 1910. Serial No. 545,540.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, LEMBERT W. Corrocn, of Decatur, count-y of Adams,and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Process ofForming Steel Connecting-Rods; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel process for makingpressed steel connecting rods for engines.

The process consists essentially7 in taking a plate of steel, stampingor pressing it into a particular shape longitudinally and transverselyso as to form two similarly shaped halves with the central portion ofuniform shape and thickness, secondly, in centrally bending the rod soas to bring the two halves against each other, thirdly in electricallywelding together the body portion of said two halves so as to form asolid connecting rod, and finally, forming a semi-circular memberadapted to be secured to the main member of the connecting rod. Theresult of this operation is an extremely cheap and economically madeconnecting rod and one of great strength.

rllhe nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanyingdrawings and the following description and claim.

ln the drawings herein presented for illustrating the invention, Figure1 is an elevation of the upper, male or cameo member of a pair of dies.Fig. 2 is the lower, female, or intaglio member of a pair of dies. Fig.3 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the dies with themetal rod acted upon in place. Fig. 4: is a plan view of the.

blank rod before it is inserted between said dies, and also an endelevation thereof is shown in Fig. 4.-. Fig. 5 is a central verticalsection through the dies on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and of the base onwhich it is mounted. Fig. 6 shows the central part of Fig. 5 beforeoperation. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a portion of a completed mainmember after it has been formed by the dies, a part of said member beingbroken away. Fig. 8 is a plan view of a bending machine for centrallybending said rod, the bent position being indicated by dotted lines.Fig. 9 is a side elevation of what is shown in Fig. 8, but with theconnecting rod removed. Fig. 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of Fig.8.

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section of the dies for forming thesemi-circular end member of the connecting rod. Fig. 12 is a transversesection thereof. Fig. 13 is a plan view of the lower mold shown in Fig.11. Fig. 11 is an end elevation of the forming block shown in thecentral part of Figs. 11 and 12. Fig. is a plan and edge view of a blankfrom which said end member of the connecting rod is formed.

A. piece of flat steel such as is shown in Fig. l is first formed, thecentral part 10 thereof being narrowed for some distance and of uniformwidth, the two halves of said rod being of similar form and the widththereof increasing from a point near the center to a point near the endpaddlelike. The thickness is uniform as. indicated in the right-hand endof Fig. 1.

rFhe steel blank shown in Fig. Ll is placed in the intaglio 12 of thedie 13 shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3. Said intaglio has a central raisedportion 14 and a slightly raised portion 15 at each end thereof, and along lower portion 16 at each end of the latter portion, and an arcuateportion 17 at the end of the long straight portion 16, and a verticalportion 18 at the end of the arcuate portion, the two halves beingsimilarly shaped. Transversely, as seen in Fig. 6, the intaglio 12 forthe end portions is widened at the upper end and has inwardly anddownwardly inclined portions 19 below said vertical portion, and acontracted portion 20 with a convex portion 21 at the bottom. The uppermember 20 of the dies has a cameo or male portion 21 adapted to conformwith the intaglio l2 and with the lower portion thereof adapted to giveto the blank or rod a desired shape both longitudinally andtransversely, the cameo in longitudinal section being shown in Fig. 1,and the intaglio section being shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The latter is soarranged as to form the rod being swaged with a lower concave surfaceand with the sides extending at right-angles therefrom so as to besomewhat U-shaped in cross section. The resulting rod is partially shownin Fig. 7 and has a central portion 10 of reduced and uniform thickness,and two body portions of uniform thickness substantially excepting theoffsets at 25 on each side of the portion 10. The two ends are similarlyformed and have a portion 26 curved segmentally and extending aboutninety degrees and then a vertical portion 27 extend- V ing from theextreme end thereof.

After the rod has been swaged in the manner indicated or in any othersuitable way, it is placed in the bending device shown in Fig. 8. I Thatdevice has a bedBO with a cylindrical former 31 at one end against whichthe central portion of the rod is placed so as to lie between that andthe roller 32 carried by the handle bar 33, which is fulcrumed on thepin 34 that carries the former 31. The other end of thev rod has itsconcave portion 26 placed againstthe convex surface of a semicircularblock 35 and lies between that block and the stop pin 36. The rod 11 isheld in place against the parts 31 and 35 by` the yholding block 37 thatis adjustably mounted on the set screw 38 extending up from the A-bed30. When the rod is in place, fas shown in Fig. 8, the hand lever` isturned from the position shown by full lines in Fig. 8

" j eye is formed as shown in Figs. 11 to 15.

to the position shownby dotted lines'therein,

and such operation will force the outer halfA of the rod around to thedotted-line position shown in Fig. 8 and will completely form the smalleye end of the connecting rod and bring the two main portions thereofagainst each other longitudinally.

After the connecting rod has been swaged and bent as heretoforeexplained, the adjacent members or parts thereof are electrically weldedtogether so as to make a solid connecting rod with the small eye at oneend and with one-half of a large eye formed at the other end. The otherhalf of thev large There is shown an upper die member 40 withado-ve-tailed opening on the lower side to receive the dove-tailed endof the cameo die 41 that is held in place by the block 42 and the screw43. Said cameo die is adapted -to enter the end 44 of the intagliomember or die 45. The bottom of the intaglio has a centra-l convexsemi-circular portion 46 with a tangential projection 47, and there aretwo straight portions 48 on theV side of ysaid curved portion 46 so thatthe adjacent surfaces ofthe cameo and intaglio will agree with eachother, and then the fiat plate 50 is placed in the intaglio and the diesbrought together, which will force the steel plate 47 in the form shownin Figs. 11, 12 and 13. Transversely it will be Vsomewhat U-shaped andit will lhave a central semi-circular concave portion 51 with atangential tongue 52 punched out so as to leave an opening therethrough.This constitutes the second memberlof a connecting rod and they aresecured `together by screws.

From the foregoing it is seen that by this process I am enabled to makecheaply and quickly a pressed-steelconnecting rod capable of greatstrength and yet relatively light and constituting quite -an improvementin the art of building engines, especially of the combustion or gasolenetype.

That I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The process of forming a pressed steel connect-ing rod, which .processincludes first forming va straight steel plate with a central uniformlynarrow portion with expanding similarly formed halves extending therefrom, second, in swaging said plate so as to turn the edges of thewidened halves thereof 4at corresponding angles to form the sameVportions of said rod together.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto aftlXed my signature inthe presenceof the witnesses herein named.

LEMBERT W. COPPOCK. l'Vitnesses:

BERNARD T. TERVEER, ARTHUR D. SU'rrLns.

Copies of this patent `may be obtained -for ve cents each, by addressingthe C'om'missioner yof Patents,

